Poroshenko-Kerry Press Meeting: Tone Down the Cheers

The press encounter for President Petro Poroshenko and Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday, July 7, in Kyiv offered more disturbing information and insights about US-Ukraine-Russia affairs than encouraging ones.

The only positive outcome was the announcement that sanctions will be continued against Russia for being an international bully and invading Ukraine from the south and east. But this was already known a couple of weeks ago so Poroshenko and Kerry merely created news and headlines by capitalizing on old information.

Sadly, the entire event resembled a lesson in how not to offend Moscow while heaping oft-repeated demands and platitudes on Ukraine about how much progress Kyiv is making in becoming a virtuous country. We’ve also heard Vice-President Joe Biden make these remarks in Kyiv and Washington.

The single preposterously impudent remark at the encounter was made by Kerry, who said in reply to a reporter’s question:

“Now, I think that it is necessary to find a path forward that unites the interests of the parties in a way that is fair and sensible, and provides assurance to both sides – to all sides, because there’s more than one, or two – that the requirements of Minsk are in fact being met and being met in a way that gives everybody an assurance that their needs are going to be satisfied.”

Kerry was referring to moving toward a successful fulfillment of the Minsk truce. In order to do so, Ukraine’s allies in this process must first recognize that Russia is the aggressor and criminal while Ukraine is the victim that was violated by an armed invasion, killings of civilians and soldiers, destruction of cities and towns, and occupation of sovereign, indivisible territory.

Consequently, the United States should not accentuate equality between Ukraine and Russia. There is no unity of interests; there are no ways that are fair and sensible that provide assurance to all sides; and there is only one violator of the Minsk accords and transgressor of UN and global laws and norms. The final resolution shouldn’t attempt to assure everyone that their needs will be satisfied because they can’t be. Russia is intent on re-subjugating Ukraine and the other former captive nations and rebuilding its prison of nations. The free world should do what’s possible to deflect Russia from that goal.

Kerry referred to parity between Moscow and Kyiv during his prepared remarks when he discussed “the situation in eastern Ukraine.” Sadly, the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-16 in the minds’ of world leaders has deteriorated from a conflict to a situation. Denying the obvious, avoiding calling it a war, and evading panic-inspiring references to Russia being similar to Nazi Germany will not bring peace to the region sooner.

The Secretary of State naively stated that Putin has “indicated that he does have a desire to try to see this process move forward, as does President Obama.” Is there verified evidence of that desire? If Putin possesses such a desire, then the war that he launched would be over and peace would reign in the region.

There is no reason to give the Russian dictator such undeserving credit by saying “And so we are hopeful that in the days ahead, that we will in fact be able to translate those expressions of hope and words in the telephone call into real actions that will make a difference.”

Kerry reiterated Washington’s commitment to returning Crimea, the first victim of Russian aggression in February 2014, to Ukraine’s sovereignty but he prefaced his comment by saying “Russia’s move to Crimea.” Move? Again he’s hiding behind antiseptic words.

Kerry also repeated a list of Ukraine’s accomplishments since establishing sovereign independence 25 years ago, noting that its “democratic potential is far brighter today.”

He said in the past 70 days the Verkhovna Rada approved constitutional amendments to reinforce judicial independence, eliminated wasteful subsidies, and began implementing a broad civil service reform. “In any country, anywhere, at any time, that’s a pretty significant agenda and a pretty significant set of accomplishments. But here, where there still continues to be difficulties with respect to security, it’s even more profound a statement of purpose and of commitment and of accomplishment.

“So Ukraine is undeniably moving forward, but I think we all agree that the job isn’t done. More has yet to be done to strengthen Ukraine’s democracy,” Kerry said.

Even a cursory ready of daily newspapers would show that “more has yet to be done” is an admonition that can be applied to any country on earth.

As world leaders and pundits have noted, Ukraine is singlehandedly endeavoring to build a democratic, market-oriented existence for itself; combat corruption and a soviet mentality; and fight for its life against the world’s greatest military machine – Russia.

Ukraine would be able to overcome these internal and external calamities faster if the US and free world would genuinely step up to the plate with far more assistance and understanding than they’re exhibiting today.

President Poroshenko, for his part, in addition to thanking the United States for its help, made one notable observation. In replying to a reporter’s question about his level of optimism, Ukraine’s commander in chief openly referred to the conflict or situation as “a state of war.” Too bad others didn’t take note of it.

“And your question, am I optimistic enough – look, I offer you the confidential information: This is impossible to be the president in a country in a state of war and not to be optimistic, because this is the only way to return Ukrainian flag to the occupied territory. Yes, I am optimistic, and I think that we can reach the result in a very short period of time with the support of our partners and allies,” Poroshenko said.

Warsaw is the venue for the NATO Summit, which was addressed during the meeting with the press. Kerry said the US has an open door policy about allowing new members to join the Atlantic alliance but added “when they are ready.” Ukraine is making progressive with military modernization but not fast enough, he said.

I wonder if this doesn’t mean that Ukraine’s membership will be put off indefinitely until Russia acquiesces to Ukraine’s active participation in this military bloc.

With the free world hoping against hope that the Minsk accords will return peace to the region and mollify the former captive nations’ fears about deeper Russian aggression, the germs of Russian subversion, terrorism, sedition and treason will spread their roots from eastern Ukraine and Crimea to all of Ukraine. The free world must support Ukraine in subduing and expelling Russian troops and terrorists from Ukraine, and then capture and prosecute all of the seditious, secessionist traitors just like the leaders of the Confederate States of America were here in 1865.

We, in the free world, especially the United States, must not be so servile as to accept any official quasi-positive comment about Ukraine without subjecting it to a scratch test. We must be more demanding of our elected officials to avoid needless clichés but rather insist that they provide Ukraine with critical frontline support that will defend Ukraine and Euro-Atlantic countries from Russian and others’ aggression.

These are not Cold War fears but 21^st century realities.

In Memory of Vasyl Slipak, Ukrainian Hero

Vasyl Slipak would have been honored to be remembered and acclaimed for his operatic accomplishments on the stage of the Paris Opera. He had lived in the French capital for 19 years, where he had been honing his musical skills.

Vasyl would have been ecstatic to have been favorably reviewed in such vaunted daily newspapers as The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Vasyl, a native of Lviv, loved to sing and had done so since his youth. He was a member of that western Ukrainian city’s famous boys’ choir called “Dudaryk,” which means young piper. He was with the chorus when it toured Ukrainian communities in the United States in the summer of 1990.

Vasyl attained high esteem but not until he returned to Ukraine and exchanged the opera stage for the bloody frontline of Ukraine’s war with Russia. On Wednesday, June 29, Vasyl’s life was cut short at the age of 41 by a sniper’s bullet. That’s when The New York Times, The Washington Post and a host of other non-Ukrainian periodicals wrote about his heroic life and death.

My friend from Lviv, Valeriy, a retired airborne officer, who has been sharing with me his observations the war, offered a few of his thoughts about Vasyl and the Russian invasion.

Valeriy wrote that when the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-16 began, Vasyl returned to Ukraine to provide assistance to the war effort. At first he transported supplies, ammunition and first aid. Then, according to Vasyl’s own words, he decided to go the extra mile by joining one of the volunteer units fighting Russian regular troops and terrorists in eastern Ukraine in order to learn better what has been happening there. Vasyl became a machine gunner.

“He served on the front line for two years, and he was killed in battle, repelling an attack by muscovite soldiers,” Valeriy recounted.

“Last rites for the hero were first conducted in the town of Dnipro, led by the local mayor and Vasyl’s comrades in arms. And then, last Friday, in Lviv, where countless people turned out to pay their last respects. The hero was interred in the historic Lychakiv cemetery, in the Pantheon of Heroes. Such a loss, so sad,” wrote Valeriy.

My friend quoted a comment by Oleksandr Babchenko, who he called a rare “normal” Russian journalist, who had stated that dregs of society, or in his words, car washers, make up the Russian army in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. While the finest sons of Ukraine fight and die in defense of their country.

Indeed, Vasyl joins the ranks of other heroic sons and daughters of Ukraine who fight and have been killed in Russia’s undeclared war with Ukraine, including 55-year-old Ukrainian American Mark Paslawsky, an investment banker from New Jersey, who gave up his day job to fight for Ukraine and died of his battlefield wounds on August 19, 2014.

“Unfortunately, our soldiers are killed almost every day, except no one reads about them. Scarcity of statistics,” Valeriy wrote.

Vasyl’s death brings to mind another striking contrast between victim Ukraine and criminal Russia. In Ukraine, each soldier, killed in action, is brought home to be buried in his parish cemetery with complete military and civilian honors. Family, friends, neighbors and plain Ukrainians line the road the hearse takes to the final resting place. Military bands, comrades in arms and Ukrainian Catholic or Orthodox priests officiate. Mothers and wives have the privilege of shedding tears and mourning for their loved ones.

In Russia, Putin has denied mothers and wives the privilege of shedding tears and mourning for their loved ones because they are buried in secret if they are buried at all in Russia.

The sniper who killed Vasyl was promoted on Russian television until one day, when he met his death at the hands of Vasyl’s frontline buddies.

Valeriy also wrote that in the meantime, the enemy is actively preparing for the final battle, mobilizing its troops, weapons, ammunitions, artillery, tanks and logistics. He said the daily skirmishes that we read about are merely reconnaissance battles or probes to test the preparedness and strength of the Ukrainian armed forces, National Guard and volunteer battalions.

“Right now, Putin and his junta are doing everything possible to inflame Ukraine from the inside, according to military experts. But they know every well that these skirmishes and clashes will not lead to their desired result, so they are also preparing for an ultimate, massive invasion,” Valeriy wrote.

Vasyl Slipak, Mark Paslawsky and Nadiya Savchenko are well known contemporary Ukrainian heroes, patriots and nationalists among thousands of comrades fighting and dying for Ukraine. Hopefully, their sacrifice will serve as a wake-up call to the free world to stand up and do more to subdue Russia.